The term mobility has different meanings in the following science disciplines. In economics, mobility is the ability of an individual or a group to improve their eco-nomic status in relation to income and wealth within their lifetime or between gen-erations. In information systems and computer science, mobility is used for the concept of mobile computing, in which a computer is transported by a person during normal use. Logistics creates by the design of logistics networks the infrastructure for the mobility of people and goods. Electric mobility is one of today’s solutions from an engineering perspective to reduce the need of energy resources and environmental impact. Moreover, for urban planning, mobility is the crunch question about how to optimise the different needs for mobility and how to link different transportation systems. In this publication we collected the ideas of practitioners, researchers, and govern-ment officials regarding the different modes of mobility in a globalised world, fo-cusing on both domestic and international issues.

Due to the growing trend in urbanization, city logistics becomes of paramount importance to provide the inhabitants of cities with vital goods. Targets of city logistics are the relief of the strain on the transport infrastructure and the reduction of mostly direct emissions such as nitric oxide. The German CEP industry (courier, express and parcel) plays a major role in supplying cities with necessary goods. However, it also has negative impacts on the quality of living in urban areas such as exhaust and greenhouse gas emissions and blocked roads. To dampen these negative effects, the CEP service provider UPS (United Parcel Service) uses micro depots as a more sustainable alternative for parcel delivery.

Aufgrund eines zunehmenden Trends zur Urbanisierung leben heute mehr Menschen in Städten als zu irgendeinem anderen Zeitpunkt zuvor. Nach einem Bericht der Vereinten Nationen lag die urbane Bevölkerung in 2014 bei 54 %.